Baby Madelyn - North Brisbane Newborn PHotographer

After photographing her parents a few weeks ago as they waited to meet her, I was so excited to see everyone again and of course to meet little Madelyn myself!

She came to the studio with quite the entourage, her parents, grandparents, Nanny who is visiting from Ireland and her Aunty! I think we can safely say she is one lucky little girl with so much love already flowing around her. They say it takes a village and Madelyn certainly has one!

We quickly got into photographing everyone with her, a group photo before smaller groups and singles. Everyone had a snuggle and a little chat to her, whispering sweet secrets and chatting and giggling at the sweet little sounds she was making.

Soon enough the family photos were finished and it was time for Madelyn to take the main stage.

Since she was four weeks old but three weeks early, it was a lot like photographing a curly, sleepy newborn. She was amazing!

We snuggled a cute pink bunny in with her, a gift from a family member.

And then I photographed her dad's receiving blanket from his childhood and placed her in a circular basket in the middle. I love incorporating personal items like this, it really makes the gallery of images that much more special and iconic for families.

She had been knitted a cute pink and grey blanket so we created a cute bed setup to photograph that with, and because it was os cute I included the little bunny rabbit again.

We also created a sweet dandelion image with the fluffy white felt and a lovely floral backdrop.

Once all the wrapped images were done we moved on to the unwrapped ones. And this is the point that tall babies wake up. And Madelyn was no exception.

But with a little feed, white noise and heat she was soon asleep again and snoring her way through the last images of the day.

And that was a wrap! I had even managed to sneak a few little snuggles in my self which was no small feat given all the hands on deck to snuggle her this day!

www.familyphotographybynatartshamarch.com.au

Baby Harry - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

I need to warn you before we get into this too far. Baby Harry and his big sister Lily are outrageously cute.

Harry has the BEST chubby newborn cheeks and Lily's soft blonde curls and bright blue eyes are enough to have an artist in a tizz. 

As Harry's mum liked greys and blues, and since he had arrived at hte studio in a cute little jumpsuit, I quickly laid him on the beanbag and photographed his curliness, little fingers and toes and delightful flaking skin.  I will remove this on request but as it is part of a new baby's newness, I do like to leave it most of the time. Within a matter of days the flaky skin is all gone, never to return. 

Also, these two are both what we newborn photographers call "Unicorn Children". That is when children are so co-operative that they just listen and do as we ask, without too much bribery or co-ersion.  Yes, these children really do exist, and Harry and Lily are living proof. 

As I had just received a new backdrop, I was really hoping the family would like it so I could photograph it, and thankfully they did! So this ornate bed is actually a fake, but doesn't it look gorgeous? 

Yes I realise you probably hadn't even noticed anything beyond the two beautiful children at the centre of the frame, because they are just divine. 

With all her photos clicked off, Lily was released back to the toy room and Harry took centre stage for his part in the shoot.  His mum particularly liked deep colours like navy and dark green, so we styled some simple sets for him in those colours. He really does suit the dark tones, and while I don't photograph too much in the deeper end of colours I am considering getting more dark toned blankets for sets like this. 

Harry has the most gorgeous cheeks and lips, a perfect newborn pout if ever you saw one. As a standard inclusion at my newborn sessions I always use my special macro lens to capture extreme closeups of all the delicious details such as eye lashes, milk spots on the nose, fingernails and pouty lips like these.  

To keep Harry's session short, we photographed almost the entire shoot with him wrapped. I find that this helps to keep the babies more settled which means that we can get through the photos quicker. We still had loads of variety in images and kept the session time to around two hours instead of three hours, which is the usual duration when including naked poses. 

Before we knew it, the session was all done and the family were on their way out the door, their two gorgeous unicorn children in tow, Lily giving me a solid high five and inviting me over for a playdate sometime soon! 

I can't wait Lily! #popthekettleon 

www.brisbanenewbornphotography.com.au 

Baby Vincent - North Brisbane Newborn Photographer

Vincent snuck into the studio a quiet little man, his full head of beautiful dark hair instantly catching my eye!

As a newborn photographer I am blessed to meet hundreds of babies every year but it is always a special moment to meet a new baby for the first time.  Even at just a week or two old I find all babies have strong personalities already developing!

Vincents personality is really chilled out!

He was awake for a long time at his photography shoot, wide awake but peaceful and content.  He even gave me some awesome smiles like this one in their family photo - isn't this just amazing!?

He also sent through some great expressions when he was wrapped up tight on the blanket, tucked in with teddy bears and bonnets.

Next we moved to some basket sets and since he was still awake I kept him wrapped up for the first one, a neutral tone.

By this stage most babies are asleep, but Vincent is not most babies.

To change things up a little we put some pants on and tried a blue set, but he was not having a bar of it, preferring instead to be upright in a snuggle than laid down in a soft fluffy nest.

Eventually, with a lot of heat, white noise, a full tummy and some extra work on our behalf patting and vibrating the beanbag, Vincent did drift off into a delightful sleep and we were able to capture a full sleepy workflow.

And after all that time keeping tabs on us, he was finally asleep. Just in time to head home.

I can only hope that his parents enjoyed a lovely afternoon snooze with him!

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Masefield Family - North Brisbane Family Photographer

This was such a special family photography shoot for me, I hadn't seen little Evie since she looked like this at her newborn photoshoot:

Now, I know some time has passed but can you believe how quickly she grew into this adorable little munchkin!


We met at one of my favourite North Brisbane spots, Bunya Crossing Reserve. The plan for this shoot was to include Dad in just about every photo. See Evies dad is a photographer himself and so has loads of images of Evie and her Mum, but not a whole lot of them as a family, or him with his baby girl.

So we set to it!

And within moments I had strayed from instruction and was capturing photos of Evie and her mum. But that is always my plan. During a photoshoot I am constantly thinking of how it would look on your walls, or in an album layout. You cant do a lovely three piece canvas collection if you dont have the option to choose from in the gallery.

So even though the main focus was all on dad, I still took some singles of mum and Evie and Evie on her own as well.

We wandered around the parkland, the trees making for a lovely shady spot before the sun dropped behind them further and we ventured out to the boardwalk.

I love photographing along here, the way that they lines all draw your eye into the family in the centre, its just gorgeous!

Evie loved looking for the birds and the turtles, she was so interested in the wildlife!

Considering our shoot was right at the time of day that young children struggle a bit, she was amazing. We let her run and play as much as she wanted, which is just how a photoshoot should be! FUN!

This would have to be one of my favourite images in their gallery, look at that cheeky grin! Its almost like she knows her parents are being super cute behind her and got the giggles <3

We played swing-a-longs on the way back to the car, Evie kicking her feet high into the air almost reaching over her own head!

As we finished our shoot near the waters edge, she found a big seed pod that she picked up and took to the water to float like a little boat. It was beautiful, watching her play with a toy she had made using her own imagination.

She loved it so much, they took it home to put in the bath, because she was adamant that she wasn't leaving the park without it!

www.familyphotograpphybynatarshamarch.com.au

Davey Triplets 1 Year Old - Brisbane Baby Photographer

I was prepared for chaos.

Three crawling babies in the studio at once.

I had plans and backup plans and backup plans for the backup plans.

And I didnt need any backup plans - the shoot went so perfectly, Aiden, Elaina and Clay were absolute rockstars!

The first set we had ready was the updated version of one of their newborn photos.  This was a story image that documented their 72 day stay in hospital before they came home.

For the updated version we used the same pallet of colours and each of the triplets wore the same colour as their newborn photo, but this time we used a bed prop instead of the nest and we tallied their weeks at home instead of days in hospital.

I always love a single photo and so we laid each out on the curly felt for a single portrait, first Elaina, then as she was finished Clay came crawling up to the beanbag ready for his turn, then as he finished, Aiden came crawling in for his turn. It was like they knew what we were doing and were totally on board with it!

The next set of photos we did was a simple white set in their jump-suits. Again they were all so compliant, until I got my phone out to do a behind the scenes video and then it went a little hectic!

Their mum had brought along images from the day they were born at 32 weeks gestation. It would have been a scary time for this family having three beautiful babies born before they were ready.  We captured an image of each of the babies, now one year old and healthy and strong holding their photo from their most vulnerable start to life.  This is an image of hope, strength and happiness.

To finish the shoot we did some family photos, first in studio and then out in the studio gardens. It was a beautiful winters day and they all had matching flannos which looked so good in the lush greenery outdoors.

And just like that we were all done! The family all filed back into the car and headed for a birthday party, which sounds like a great way to end a weekend!

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Johnson Family Photos - North Brisbane Family Photographer

The Johnson family were such great fun to photograph at one of my favourite North Brisbane locations!

This little spot has the best of both worlds with lovely low trees and parkland and a beach where the sun sets over the water,  a rare thing on the East coast of Australia!

It was a little breezy and being by the ocean meant that the breeze had a bit of freshness to it as well.  Teenagers Tenesha and Jordan were not a fan of the wind, rubbing their shoulders and jumping on the spot to keep warm while we got the formalities out of the way and headed into the park.

To be fair, they have only recently moved to Brisbane from Cairns, so even though we have sub tropical weather here and this particular day was 26 degrees, the wind and the evening sun weren't doing them any favours.

Mum Michelle had come barefoot, which I loved! Soon everyone had joined her and the wind and cool evening temperature was forgotten about as we headed in to the sun drenched parkland.

The girls had brought their A game for the photos, every click was a stunner! They ribbed each other on who did the best pose and who took more selfies, sisters are the actual best.

Their Dad works in the Australian Defence Force and was currently on a posting, meaning he hadn't been home in months. He had a one week visit before heading off again, and this was the tiny window that we had scheduled their family session into.  It had been touch and go as our original date was rained out with a storm, but thankfully the good weather returned the next day and we held the session without an issue.

It was so beautiful to see how bubbling and excited the whole family were to be together. Thats what I love so much about family photoshoots, its a time to put the screens away and just be really present with each other. We play goofy games or take a moment for family to really talk to each other and share some of the things you wouldn't normally say, such as things you love most about each other, or in their case, what you missed most about each other.

I could tell they were all happy to be a bit goofy, so we did a jokey photo of  Lance and Dani kissing while the girls make puking and embarrassed gestures. It was gold!

In the last light of day we headed to the mudflats where we created some more beautiful silhouettes, family images and then had an all in water fight!

Thankfully they had expected to get a bit messy and had towels and more in the car ready to tidy up for the drive home.

It was so much fun, I had an absolutely ball and I got the impression the Johnson family all did too!

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Cullen Family - North Brisbane Family Photographer

I could not contain my excitement when this gorgeous family got in touch to book some updated family photos. The last time I saw them they looked like this:

Flash-forward two years and Rose and Claire are bundles of energy, giving their now 6 year old brother Jackson a real run for his money! 

Can we take a moment to really appreciate the awesome clothing choices here? I was so excited when I first saw them, such warm and classic colours that worked so well in both the park setting and the golden sunset photos too. 

With twin two year olds I always knew this would be a fast paced shoot - and it certainly was! 

Thankfully their awesome parents were fully loaded with energy also and we spent a lot of the shoot running around with the kids! 

I always get the expected "formal" photo out of the way first and it was lucky we did because the kids all took turns being hungry or upset after this photo was in the bag. Totally normal by the way, no matter the age of the kids they always get tired of being told what to do pretty quickly. Go figure right? 

So. We do formal photos first and then hte session descends into an hour of mucking around, climbing trees, dancing in the dust, piggy back rides, and more. 

I love this spot because there are so many options for the photos. We start in the parkland and then as the sun gets lower we head out to the beach, and if the tide permits we ca run riot on the mudflats as well. 

This regular change of scenery is also a great trick to keep the kids on side with new things to find and new games to play each time we move to a new spot. 

By the time we were heading to the mudflats it was getting a bit cool, but thankfully not breezy. The water on the other hand was.... arctic.  Ok, ok I know we live in Queensland so it was probably just "Cold" to most people, but no matter which way you cut it, getting your feet out of toasty winter shoes and walking into icy winter sea water is always a bit of a shock. 

Dad had one twin under each arm as we made out way through the first little rivulets and out to the sandy flats. Once we were out there the kids were in their element, racing off in all directions! 

Looking for the sand worms and splashing in the little puddles kept everyone happy, so much so that we photographed right up to sunset. 5.30pm just in case you are worried that the kids were up too late. This is one of the reasons that I love winter sessions! 

Emma and Adam had a quiet moment while Jackson took the twins hands and headed them back to the car, and this would be one of my personal favourite photos from their whole shoot. So obviously still very in love and with a clear adoration of their beautiful children. 

www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au 

Baby Ari - Brisbane Newborn Photographer

It isn't often that families with newborn babies and a toddler are early for something, but this family was in fine form!

Hugh jumped out of the car and gave me a quick high five before heading inside the studio to hunt out the best toys he could find to keep himself entertained.

Little Ari was still fast asleep, although getting out of hte car did wake him a little and so he started our shoot with a feed while I photographed Hugh.

This kid has quite possibly the brightest blue eyes I have seen. So happy and sparkly too, it was so much fun to play games like "round the garden" and when he giggled and squealed his eyes would light up even further.

Family photos were next and both Hugh and Ari were really great, although just as we were getting to the sibling photos, Hugh was done.

We moved on to some lovely single photos of Ari, then invited Hugh back.

It was a no.

I created a lovely navy setup using some soft tones and contrasting colours. I always tweak the setups a little as I go and take an extra option that we can include as a digital image using some of hte digital drops I have in my collection. I love playing around with these kind of ideas and extending the final gallery with some simple, clever processes.

By this stage Hugh was back again and this time he was looking to have a photo with little Ari. No, this next part should come with a warning because it is off the charts cute.

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Are you ready?

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Argh!! So cuuuute!! Both the boys were just amazing together!

It was finally time to finish off the shoot on the beanbag.  I always warn families that with this part of the session, each time we move Ari, he could wake and not settle, in which case we call an end to the session.

Well Ari nailed hte first photo, and just about made it through the second photo but then he woke up and realised he was hungry and so we called it stumps for the day.

They are such lovely boys, it was such a pleasure to spend the morning with this gorgeous family.



www.familyphotographybynatarshamarch.com.au

Baby Scarlett - North Brisbane Newborn Photographer

It all started innocently enough. Scarlett emerged from the car sleepy and calm.

Little did we know.

She slept peacefully through the meet and greet, unsettled a little as I wrapped her for the first round of photos but we made it through those mostly well.

Her parents hadn't been sure about taking family photos but thankfully I talked them round. I always say "You don't have to select the images in your gallery but lets just take hem today and then you will know that i have them if you ever change your mind. "

They said that she had just that morning started taking a dummy, and my gosh I am glad for that dummy! It became our greatest ally during the session, Scarlett not sure about sleeping but very sure about sucking. I have packets of dummies in the studio for emergency situations, sometimes it is the first time that baby has decided they want to suck so I found it good to have some on hand should we need them.

Scarlett certainly lived up to her name, a fiery little girl with a very strong will!  She's awesome!

I tried to settle her into a curly snuggled up shape but she kicked her legs out straight with her knees locked tight. It became her signature pose.

Even with the heat up high and the white noise cranking and the three of us adults all starting to wilt, Scarlett was wide eyed and interested.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck we managed to photograph her through the entire workflow, clicking photos milliseconds after her dummy was removed, then replacing the dummy and moving on to the next pose. It was intense and incredible at the same time, her eye contact was so strong.

And just like that the session was finished, she was still sucking her dummy (despite a solid feed and a fully tummy) and keeping an eye on us, making sure no one was up to anything. They headed home for lunch and hopefully a nap for the whole family.